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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rock — music
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. mate — to breed
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. cap — a lid
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mate — a friend
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cap — a hat
  15. degree — from a university
  16. clip — a video
  17. cap — of ice
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. mate — a partner
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. rock — a stone
  24. clip — to cut

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com